


sublimation

by itsjennasaisquoi



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bisexual Tony Stark, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Darcy Lewis, M/M, Pride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:53:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21891709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsjennasaisquoi/pseuds/itsjennasaisquoi
Summary: The SHIELD briefing missed a few things.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 2
Kudos: 148





	sublimation

Red, white, and blue. Emphasis on the red–the good Captain was currently doing his best impression of a tomato.

“Good God, Capsicle. If the porn you’re surfing is so scandalous, it’s only polite to share with the class.”

Steve darkened a few shades further as he sputtered. After trying and failing to form proper sentences for a few seconds, he finally turned around the tablet he was holding to show Tony the headlines. It wasn’t anything the billionaire hadn’t seen before, but he gave it a cursory scan as Cap regained his composure.

“Tony,” Steve finally whispered. “You had…sex…with Justin Hammer?”

“Well, yeah, Steve.” Tony nodded as he handed the tablet back. “The Internet says so. That means it must be true.” The shock on Steve’s face was absolutely priceless. Tony made a silent note to have JARVIS permanently save the footage later. After Steve progressed through three or four of the five stages of grief, Tony finally took pity on him.

“Kidding, Rogers. That would be disgusting.” Squaring his shoulders, Tony quipped, “I did not have sexual relations with that man.” All of his best references were wasted, but it still amused him to try.

Relief was palpable on Steve’s face. “Oh, okay. That’s good. For the… Avengers. And whatnot.”

Tony quirked an eyebrow at that last comment but didn’t question Steve as he left the room. “JARVIS?”

“Sir?”

“Rewind the tapes.”

JARVIS let out a mechanical whirr in lieu of a sigh.

***

A couple weeks later, Thor was visiting Midgard. The visit was mostly work stuff for the Avengers, but Tony paid for Jane to fly out and put her up in one of the Tower’s empty rooms so the two could spend a little time together. Of course, Jane was a workaholic and her assistant was possibly the nosiest person alive, so Darcy and all of Jane’s equipment came with the package. Tony didn’t mind–Jane was brilliant, and Darcy was excellent company.

“Wow, Darcy,” Tony tutted. “Rainbow socks? That’s gay.”

Steve’s eyes widened. Not a lot, just enough.

Darcy spun in her seat at the kitchen counter. “And you, Stark? Breathing, in my good Christian household? Shamelessly homosexual.”

Tony nodded in a mockery of resigned disappointment as he walked back to his lab. “Too true.”

The remark about breathing was obviously a joke, but the first part… “Are rainbow socks really gay?” Steve’s brow furrowed. Darcy was laughing, but it was a legitimate question. Clint had gotten him a pair as a souvenir from a mission outside of Belfast, and he needed to know.

“Hmm?” Darcy hummed without glancing up from the coffee she was brewing. “Oh, sort of. Rainbows in general are always a little gay.”

His question was answered, but the furrow in his brow remained. Despite the SHIELD briefing on the future, apparently there was still a lot to learn.

***

“Come on, Steve, look alive.” Clint knew that Cap didn’t drink coffee, so he offered him a mug of oolong tea instead. 

Steve shot Clint a look as he gratefully accepted the beverage with both hands.

“There’s a pride march in Brooklyn. Let’s get going, Mr. Rogers. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”

“Someone’s marching on Brooklyn?” Steve gave Clint’s brightly colored ensemble a glance riddled with doubt. “Should I suit up?”

Clint’s smile drooped a bit once he realized that Steve wasn’t kidding. “No, no, it’s just an event. For gay people. I can’t believe you didn’t hear; Tony and Darcy have only been going on about it for the past two weeks.”

“It must be pretty big if the boys in blue are calling in for Avengers backup,” Steve mused. “How many people are we expecting?”

The smile had completely disappeared from Clint’s face at this point. “There are no cops at pride, Steve.”

“But if they’re homosexuals, then shouldn’t the police be there? Because it’s illegal?” Steve was still confused, but Clint was suddenly understanding quite a bit. 

The archer set down his coffee and flag before reconsidering and snatching back his cup. He tugged at his hair with his left hand and clutched the coffee in his right, gulping down Tony’s fancy imported brew in between muttering to himself. Steve was still confused.

“Goddamn SHIELD… can't do anything right… it’s the twenty-first century, Captain America can’t be homophobic!”

“Hey, I’m not gay, Clint. There’s no need for those kinds of accusations,” Steve cut in defensively.

Clint just sighed. “JARVIS, get Tony down here, now. I don’t have enough caffeine for this.”

While they waited, Clint sat down quite roughly and continued assaulting his coffee.

Steve was still confused.

Tony made his way to the kitchen a few moments later, matching rainbow tie and sunglasses on point. “What do you want, Barton? We have to leave in twenty minutes and I haven’t even–”

“The SHIELD briefing didn’t include gay people, Tony.”

He didn’t get it at first. “Wait, what? What briefing?” All eyes were suddenly on Steve. “Oh, Jesus.”

Clint threw up a peace sign as he strode away from the garbage fire he had inadvertently walked into. “Good luck, Stark.”

Tony turned back to Steve with a calculating yet compassionate expression. “Sit tight. I’ll be back.”

Steve was still confused.

***

Tony returned thirty minutes later with a tablet in his hand. “Okay, Capsicle. It’s not okay to hate gay people anymore. Shocking, I know. Don’t worry, JARVIS and I curated a little reading assignment for you. I have to go, but we’ll talk about it tonight. Call me if you have any burning questions.”

With that, he left Steve alone to his reading. The articles Tony had found for him were in chronological order to ensure that Steve got all the highlights SHIELD had missed, and JARVIS had been instructed to monitor him as he read. Tony had faith in Steve’s moral character, but it was better safe than sorry. Interestingly enough, JARVIS didn’t register any of the negative microexpressions he had been instructed to watch for. In place of anger or fear, his scans picked up disbelief and tentative joy. When Steve had made it through the entirety of the selection, he set the tablet down with care and simply looked at his hands. JARVIS chose that moment to pull up a livestream of Tony Stark, decked out in the colors of the rainbow as he gave his keynote speech at the march.

The captain’s soft-spoken words had the volume of a whisper and the echo of a shout. “JARVIS,” he said, “Pull up a picture of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.”


End file.
